The officer was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition, police spokesman Capt. Joey Smith told AJC.com. The officer, who was not identified, is a 10-year veteran on the force who works the day shift.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is on the scene of the shooting in the 300 block of Jonesboro Road. The alleged shooter entered Smile Creators Family & Cosmetic dentistry just after 8 a.m. and caused some type of disruption, Smith said.

“I don’t know if it was work-related, I don’t know if he was a customer... something was unusual about this gentleman that scared them enough that they called police,” he said.

It is not yet known if the man was armed with his own gun. It is possible the officer was shot with his service weapon before officers returned fire, Smith said.

“It is very early on,” he said. There may have been a struggle with the officer’s weapon.”

Henry County PD: suspect may have shot officer in the face with his own gun. There was struggle inside dentist office and suspect shot and killed by that officer. Learned he’s in critical condition and a veteran officer on force about a decade pic.twitter.com/ABaI4GvndP